The Empire
Claudia Severa
She wrote a birthday invitation that we can still read.
Years. Lived around AD 100. Exact years unknown.
We are not sure. We do not know when she was born or when she died. About AD 100 is the time of the letter.
Three short facts
- 1She lived by a Roman fort in northern Britain.
- 2Her note was written on a thin wooden tablet.
- 3She invited a friend named Sulpicia Lepidina.
The story
Claudia Severa was a commander’s wife at Vindolanda.
She asked her friend to a birthday party.
A scribe wrote most of the note.
She added a greeting in her own hand.
It is one of the oldest bits of writing by a woman in Latin that we still have.